[ZE120124] The World Seen From Rome
ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - January 24, 2012
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VATICAN DOSSIER
- Pope Recommends Silence to Allow Reflecting, True Communication
- Benedict XVI Stresses Value of Silence
- St. Paul Outside the Walls Hosting Vatican II Exhibit
- News.va to Open French, Portuguese Editions
WORLD FEATURES
- Wife, Mother, Convert Shows Importance of Christians in Politics
- Commentary on Canon Law Presented at Lateran University
- Bangkok Hosts Interreligious Meeting
NEWS BRIEFS
FORUM
LITURGY
DOCUMENTS
CLASSIFIED ADS
VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Recommends Silence to Allow Reflecting, True Communication
Says Quiet Is Necessary in Overload of Messages
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- "When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary."
Benedict XVI offered this reflection today in his message for World Communications Day, which he dedicated this year to the theme "Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization."
He spoke of the need for a balance between silence and word: "When word and silence become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness; when they complement one another, however, communication acquires value and meaning."
Silence "gives rise to even more active communication, requiring sensitivity and a capacity to listen that often makes manifest the true measure and nature of the relationships involved," the Pope said.
Referring to the Internet as a forum for questions and answers, the Holy Father noted that "people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware. If we are to recognize and focus upon the truly important questions, then silence is a precious commodity that enables us to exercise proper discernment in the face of the surcharge of stimuli and data that we receive."
"Ultimately," he suggested, "this constant flow of questions demonstrates the restlessness of human beings, ceaselessly searching for truths, of greater or lesser import, that can offer meaning and hope to their lives. Men and women cannot rest content with a superficial and unquestioning exchange of skeptical opinions and experiences of life -- all of us are in search of truth and we share this profound yearning today more than ever."
Silence, moreover, is what we need to speak to God, the Pope recalled.
"If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God," he said.
"In silent contemplation, then, the eternal Word, through whom the world was created, becomes ever more powerfully present and we become aware of the plan of salvation that God is accomplishing throughout our history by word and deed," the Pontiff continued.
He concluded: "Word and silence: learning to communicate is learning to listen and contemplate as well as speak."
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Full text: www.zenit.org/article-34175?l=english
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Benedict XVI Stresses Value of Silence
Message Presented for 46th World Day of Social Communications
By Luca Marcolivio
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Silence does not mean absence of communication. It is, rather, the other face of the word, which confers meaning on it, modulating the times of socialization, education and evangelization.
These are some of the reflections found in the Message for the 46th World Day of Social Communications, signed by Benedict XVI and published today, on the liturgical memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists and communicators. The theme of the message is "Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization."
The Message was presented this morning in the Vatican Press Office by Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and the other leaders of that dicastery.
Silence, explained Archbishop Celli, is not "lack of communication" but "part of the flow of messages and information that characterizes the new culture of communication."
Silence "can express closeness, solidarity and care for others," in addition to being a "strong way to express our respect and love for others."
Silence is also a form of respect for the other, an "active attitude" that "gives room to the other to speak," added the prelate.
Silent behavior "reinforces relationship, the bond between two persons," it helps reflection and appreciation, gives "the correct meaning to communication" and helps us not to be submerged "in the volume of communication itself," he continued.
Today's culture, instead, entails the serious risk of "not listening to the other's question and of trying to impose prefabricated answers." In conversation, on the contrary, silence is fundamental in as much as it makes possible "inter-activity," hence, a real search for truth.
For humanity
Archbishop Celli commented to ZENIT on the apparent contradiction between the virtual nature of today's communication and the "bodily nature" of the Christian message.
And, if on one hand the Holy Father's invitation to reappraise the virtue of silence might appear in opposition to the massive deluge of information that we receive daily, the Vatican's communication official noted, the Pontiff's concern is addressed to the human eco-system, seen as a "propitious environment able to balance images, silence and sounds."
"The Pope's great concern is for man, in particular for men inserted in today's context," he said. "His message is not addressed only to us Catholics. There are laymen who feel the profound need to rediscover the authenticity of the word, and, at the same time, the authenticity of man, through a silence that we describe as 'contemplative.'"
Contemplation in expression
On the silence of the Church in face of evil, Archbishop Celli said that it is good "to distinguish the semantic value of silence and of being silent. There must be a moment when my contemplation must find a strong expression."
Hence, the alleged silence of the Church, which manifests itself sometimes in face of injustices and behavior that is contrary to Christian morality, is not always necessarily a "being silent."
In this connection, the Holy Father's message stresses that "it is from silence that the building of justice is born. Hence, the silence that the Pope invokes is not the alienating of oneself from the concrete reality," Archbishop Celli said. "There are moments, however, when I cannot be silent: My silence would be a betrayal of man."
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Full text of papal message: www.zenit.org/article-34175?l=english
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St. Paul Outside the Walls Hosting Vatican II Exhibit
Archbishop Wojtyła's Diplomatic Passport Among Original Documents on Display
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- An exhibition of the original documents of the Second Vatican Council opens Wednesday at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the site where Blessed John XXIII announced the convocation of this important ecclesial event of the 20th century.
Oct. 11, 2012, marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the council. Basilica officials planned this exhibition to begin on the liturgical feast of the conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25.
It was, in fact, on Jan. 25, 1959, that Pope John XXIII, after a solemn celebration in the basilica and while visiting the adjacent Benedictine monastery, announced his desire to convoke a Church council.
Both the basilica and the abbey are planning different events to celebrate the two ecclesial moments: the announcement and the opening of Vatican II.
On Wednesday, Benedict XVI will preside over the second vespers of the Pauline feast in the papal basilica, closing at the same time the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The program of events, organized by Cardinal Francesco Monterisi, archpriest of the basilica, and by Benedictine Father Edmund Power, abbot of St. Paul's, includes meetings and conferences until Nov. 24, 2013, the closing of the Year of Faith convoked by Benedict XVI.
The exhibition, titled Sanctus Paulus extra moenia et Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum II, covers an area of 300 square meters (360 square yards).
The exhibition will include such documents as the handwritten texts of John XXIII's addresses to announce the council and also his opening speech on Oct. 11, 1962, in St. Peter's.
Also on display will be the diplomatic passport, signed by Cardinal Angelo dell'Acqua, which enabled Archbishop Karol Wojtyła to attend the Council: a very important document given that at that time the Polish government refused to issue a passport to the cardinal primate, Stefan Wyszynski.
All Vatican institutions have contributed to the exhibition, which will include the front pages and photographs from the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, as well as coins, medals and stamps of the time, loaned by the Vatican Library and the Philatelic and Numismatic Office. The new postal stamp, issued for the 50th anniversary of the council, will also be on display.
Vatican Radio has contributed recordings to help make an almost 15-minute video. "It is quite something to hear again the voice of Pope Roncalli," Cardinal Monterisi declared to Vatican Radio, "and to see again images of that time."
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News.va to Open French, Portuguese Editions
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The www.news.va Web site will soon be available in French and Portuguese, announced Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, during a press conference today to present Benedict XVI's Message for the 46th World Day of Social Communications.
A year after its birth, the site, which brings together Vatican news sources, is already available in Italian, English and Spanish.
Archbishop Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, also gave some statistics related to the Vatican news site. The daily visits fluctuate from 8,000 to 10,000, with 16, 0000 recorded on Christmas Day.
The average time on the site is two minutes, a sign that those visiting don't do so accidentally but stop, read and seek information, he added.
Visits to the Vatican news site come from some 180 countries worldwide, primarily from the United States (27% of the visits), followed by Italy, Germany, Spain, Canada and Brazil.
Just over half, 53%, of the visitors are new and the remaining 47% are regulars.
Archbishop Celli said that the vast majority of news.va contacts come from social networks: 65% from Facebook, and about 30% from Twitter.
He also unveiled to the press the re-design of the Web site of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (www.pccsva.org).
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WORLD FEATURES
Wife, Mother, Convert Shows Importance of Christians in Politics
Austria to Host Beatification on Sunday
By Britta Dorre
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Hildegard Burjan (1883-1933), founder of the Sisters of Social Charity (Caritas Socialis), will be proclaimed blessed in St. Stephen's cathedral in Vienna on Sunday.
"For the Archdiocese of Vienna, but also for the whole of Austria, Hildegard Burjan is an impressive figure, a person who should be made known," said the cardinal archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn.
The process of beatification was opened in 1963 by the then cardinal of Vienna, Franz Konig. Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, will preside over the solemn beatification ceremony.
Burjan was born on Jan. 30, 1883, in Gorlitz, Germany, a city on the Neisse river -- since cut in half due to a change in the German-Polish border after World War II -- the second daughter of the Freund family, which had Jewish origins. From her youth, Hildegard was distinguished by her interest in social problems and for her free spirit. She was one of the first women to attend university and the first to occupy a seat in the Austrian Parliament.
She concluded her study of philosophy in Zurich, Switzerland, with a doctorate summa cum laude. After her marriage in 1907 to Alexander Burjan, she went with her husband first to Berlin and then, in 1909, to the Austrian capital.
In Vienna she witnessed great social contradictions. However, instead of ignoring the great state of poverty there, she began to commit herself seriously to social matters.
She joined a group of women who were striving to implement the ideas of Pope Leo XIII's social encyclical Rerum Novarum(1891). Hildegard Burjan's commitment was profoundly marked by the Catholic faith, to which she converted in 1909 after a serious illness.
She considered interior liberty and the correct formation of personality as indispensable for people's interior development. She was convinced that genuine social care lies in helping others to help themselves. For her, human dignity always came first.
In 1912 she founded the Association for Domestic Christian workers (Verein christlicher Heimarbeiterinnen) and in 1918 she amalgamated all the organizations of working women in the Social Assistance Association (Soziale Hilfe). She also helped the starving people of Erzgebirge (the Ore Mountains) with a food collection and created a network of assistance for families (Familienhilfe) in Sudetenland.
Commitment
Faithful to the principle according to which social action requires a combination of private and political commitment, Hildegard Burjan entered politics in 1918, the year of the end of World War I and the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Her objective was to change social structures permanently, demonstrating a great sensitivity to the economic and social problems of her time.
She fought for equality, for a minimum salary for domestic workers, for care for those involved in dangerous activities. She combated child labor.
With the help of a Catholic priest, Ignaz Seipel, who after World War I was chancellor of Austria twice, she founded the apostolic society of the Sisters of Caritas Socialis in October 1919. Putting flexibility first, Burjan gave up the idea of a cloistered life for her congregation and other aspects of religious life, which she considered too limiting.
Today, the congregation she founded runs a number of centers in Vienna, among them a hostel for mothers and children, day nurseries, health clinics and specialized clinics for the elderly and chronically ill, and day centers for patients affected by Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis. In the Austrian capital, the congregation runs the Rennweg Hospice of Caritas Socialis, which specializes in palliative care.
With her tireless commitment and example, until her death on June 11, 1933, this mother of a daughter, Lisa (whom doctors advised she abort for health reasons, a proposal she point-blank refused), Hildegard Burjan created institutions that continue to be very important and which will continue to help future generations.
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Commentary on Canon Law Presented at Lateran University
Union Emphasized Between Juridical, Pastoral Approaches
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The juridical and pastoral dimensions are inseparably united in the Church.
This was one of the key points made in a recent presentation of a new Italian-language commentary on the Code of Canon Law.
The book, "Il Codice di diritto canonico," published by the Italian publishing house EDB, is the third edition of the juridical-pastoral commentary. It was presented Jan. 17 in the Paul VI Hall of the Pontifical Lateran University.
The two previous editions were authored by the late Monsignor Luigi Chiappetta. This new edition was prepared by a group of experts on canon law: Professors Francesco Catozzella, Arianna Catta, Claudia Izzi and Luigi Sabbarese.
Uniting the pastoral and juridical dimensions is needed in order to avoid relativistic procedures and a merely subjective interpretation of canonical norms, according to the presentation.
The rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, Monsignor Enrico Dal Covolo, said that "in a manner consistent with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1983, showed the naturally juridical nature of every human experience, and of the relationships that are constituted in the ecclesial community."
"There is no place in the Church for a relativistic mentality and procedure, with the inevitable consequence of a distorted view of law and of a merely subjective interpretation of the canonical norms. In a cultural context marked by relativism and juridical positivism, the Church's pastoral ministry, guided by the pope and the bishops, is the correct dimension to lead the human person to law and justice," he added.
The rector of the Lateran University quoted a 1990 speech of Blessed John Paul II: "It's not true that to be more pastoral law must be less juridical […] The juridical and pastoral dimension are inseparably united in the Church, pilgrim on this earth. Above all, there is a harmony that stems from their common end: the salvation of souls."
Moreover, Monsignor Dal Covolo insisted on the risk of identifying the law of the Church solely with judicial activity. "Between the two aspects, the juridical and the pastoral, there is no opposition, but, rather, complementarity."
Law and a pastoral approach, hence, constitute an "unbreakable binomial" for the good of the Church and for the salus animarum, just as the Holy Father Benedict XVI affirmed almost a year ago in an address to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, he explained.
On Saturday, the Holy Father touched on similar themes in this year's address to that tribunal.
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Bangkok Hosts Interreligious Meeting
Group Looks at Social Challenges That Need Cooperation Between Creeds
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Religious leaders from regions of Asia and the West met in Thailand this month to consider the various social challenges that can be dealt with through religious dialogue and cooperation between different creeds.
Fifty experts and scholars of Asian cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism and Taoism – from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, the Lebanon, Macao, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and the United States -- met Jan. 11-13, as reported last Friday by L'Osservatore Romano.
The event was coordinated by Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, the retired archbishop Guwahati, India, who is in charge of the office for evangelization of the Federation of Asian Episcopal Conferences.
The group discussed violence, the economic crisis, corruption, conflicts between cultures, environmental damage, the destruction of cultures and values, as well as good government.
One of the purposes of the encounter was to demonstrate the rich religious and cultural diversity of the different countries. As well, it was intended to create positive attitudes toward other religious traditions and to highlight the goodness, truth and beauty present in them.
Archbishop Menamparampil was pleased with the numbers present at the meeting and pointed out that this type of event has as its objective "to seek visions and inspirations from the culture and tradition represented by each scholar."
"With progressive world globalization, there is an infinity of possibilities for dialogue between culture, civilization and faith; it is an occasion to hear the ideas of each one and to learn from others' point of view," he added.
Other topics included reflections on Asia's intrinsic values, ecology in Taoism, the challenge of ethical action in the Chinese context, and Confucian ethics in modern society.
Asked if this cultural exchange can help to alleviate tensions in some parts of Asia, where Christians, as well as ethnic and religious minorities, are victims of attacks, the archbishop said that "it could be a valuable contribution, but the profound cause of the tensions must be studied and the motives of dissatisfaction."
Archbishop Menamparampil added that "at first it was very difficult to communicate to the people the project of bringing together persons of different cultures and traditions to talk among themselves, but once the idea was clarified, many have supported it enthusiastically."
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NEWS BRIEFS
Sant'Egidio Lauded for Aiding Costa Concordia Workers
Provided Filipinos and Indonesians With Basic Necessities
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The Community of Sant'Egidio reported on what happened with the 180 Filipinos and 170 Indonesians who were left without anything in Italy, far from their countries and families, in the aftermath of the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship.
Last Jan. 13, a total of 350 foreign workers were on board the Costa Concordia, which was shipwrecked off the coast of the Italian Island of Giglio.
The communiqué refers to the workers as "angels," who helped and rescued hundreds of persons. The workers finally disembarked, soaked and freezing, and almost all of them barefoot. None of them had clothes to change into, or a family to help them.
They appealed to the Sant'Egidio Community, which from its collection and distribution center in Rome, called the "Eco-Solidarity City," in just a few hours sent coats, shoes and warm clothing for the shipwrecked workers.
For its part, the embassy of the Philippines to the Holy See thanked the Sant'Egidio Community for the aid offered, and made it known that, after a thanksgiving Mass, all the Filipino citizens were on their way home. Only one has stayed behind in hospital in Italy.
In its Eco-Solidarity City in Rome, the Sant'Egidio Community collects and distributes food, clothing and other aid, fruit of the generosity of many donors.
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FORUM
On Silence and the Word
A Commentary on Pope Benedict's Message to Communicators
By Ann Schneible
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Today, on the feast of St. Francis de Sales, all those who work in the fields of communication can pray and reflect upon their vocation to be communicators.
It is a challenge being a communicator in this modern world, trying to rapidly sift through an onslaught of real-time information in order to provide readers, viewers or listeners with a story of interest and importance. As a result, it becomes far too easy to forget that the objective of any communicator should not be merely to communicate information, but truth.
And here lies the dilemma. The constant assault of information that modern means of communication put upon the human consciousness fills the interior life with noise; yet, it is only in interior silence that the soul can be disposed to hearing the truth that God speaks to the heart of every person. How, then, can Catholic communicators transmit the truth to a public whose interior life has become inundated with a sheer cacophony of information?
Pope Benedict, in his letter of preparation for the 46th World Day of Communications, calls us to reflect upon the relationship between silence and the word, without which there cannot be a lasting and meaningful communication of the truth. These two aspects, silence and word, must be "kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved."
In order to communicate silence, moreover, communicators must learn to establish a discipline of silence within themselves.
"In silence," says the Holy Father, "we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others, and we choose how to express ourselves." Silence also promotes a certain generosity, one which permits the one to whom we are communicating to speak freely. It is in this freedom where a truly enriching dialogue between persons can take place. "If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God."
The widespread use of search engines and social networking sites indicates a hunger for truth, a constant search for answers. The challenge of communicators, therefore, is to use words and images to inspire their audience to silent contemplation, for it is through this that "the eternal Word, through whom the world was created, becomes ever more powerfully present and we become aware of the plan of salvation that God is accomplishing throughout our history by word and deed."
It is through listening and contemplation that meaningful communication of ideas is made possible. By therefore following the example of the Scriptures, where God often spoke most powerfully and poignantly through silence, we can find what is necessary to transmit effectively and with generosity the truth which we ourselves have received.
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Ann Schneible is a member of ZENIT's Rome Bureau.
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Whose Conscience? Which Religion? The Enemy Is Partially Us
Ruling on Health Care Needs to Be Judged in Light of Truth
By E. Christian Brugger
WASHINGTON, D.C., JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- There is a lot of anger over the Obama administration's recently announced decision to require religiously-affiliated employers to cover contraceptive services in their insurance plans, and rightly so. On Friday, the secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius, announced that institutions such as Catholic universities and hospitals have one-year to "adapt" their policies to ensure employee coverage for all FDA approved contraceptives, including the abortion drug Ella, no copays, no deductibles.
Opponents of the mandate are crying foul: "Obama has waged a war on religious liberty!" "Conscience rights are being trampled!," and so on. Because I hold the Obama administration in such disdain, I feel sympathy for these battle cries. But I fear the problem is deeper; and that if we don't take a harder look at what's going on around us, we'll all end up like Dr. Seuss' North-going Zax and South-going Zax, puffing out our chests, standing nose to nose with our enemy, barking out disagreements devoid of understanding of the deeper problem. Easy as it is to blame the liberals for this appalling state of affairs, I think the problem to a certain degree is that none of us any longer believe in truth.
This wasn't always so. Once upon a time, "reasonable laws" were the aims of lawmakers. "Reasonable" in the eminent tradition of English common law -- the seedbed for our Anglo-American legal tradition -- meant "in accord with right reason," which meant "true." So reasonable standards were true standards. And true standards were something that stood over and above the standard-bearer. They corresponded in some primordial way with reality, to which republicans and monarchists, conservatives and liberals alike were subordinate. Everyone knew, of course, that error was possible and no one was brash enough to hold that every policy proposed or adopted was timelessly true. But the standard toward which political discourse aimed was a standard of truth.
We are now embarrassed by the term "truth." As an artifact of language ("We hold these 'truths' to be … "), the term is still occasionally heard in the public sphere. But as a normative term affirming the correspondence of some proposition with reality, the term in the public sphere has been dead and buried for decades. It connotes being inflexible and uncompromising, a genuine threat to pluralism, an offense against dialogue, and an insult against inclusivity -- American virtues all. Down deep in our democratic soul, we suspect -- yes, even conservatives -- that those who assert "truth" in the public sphere are dangerously slouching toward tyranny. After all, we rejected in 1776 Britain's Erastian politico-religious system of the "divine" right of kings.
So we talk rather about opinion, consensus and party platforms. We reduce moral judgment and religious belief to sectarian "rights," with the full implication that no moral judgment or religious doctrine is timelessly true. In order to avoid sectarian conflict, we agree to tolerate the ideas of the other side. But we believe they (i.e., the other side and their ideas) are stupid and our side is right. And rightness -- and this is the clincher -- is an essentially subjective concept, no connection to truth. Of course, to sever rightness and truthfulness is philosophically untenable. But dammit we're Americans, not philosophers.
What are we left with? Elections. Get our guy into office so he can advance our view and oppose the other side. Sounds like a bunch of children on a playground: befriend the big kid. We seem content to resolve weighty issues bearing on the future of our civilization through political solutions. But, alas, politicians are sinners. When our guy gets in, he starts an unjustified war, bullies smaller nations whose cultures he doesn't understand, apologizes for American failings, fraternizes with tyrants, fornicates, adulterizes, says he's "sorry" and other maddening things such as "I feel your pain" or "mission accomplished!" We grow disillusioned, throw him out of office, and search for another savior. Has our grand experiment in ordered liberty been replaced by a conception of authority more near to Nietzche's ubiquitous will-to-power? Can the integrity of our community endure five more decades of this modus operandi?
Has "Obama waged a war on religious liberty"? Are "conscience rights being trampled"? He and his defenders certainly don't think so. They think they're waging a war on intolerance and bigotry that has its origin in anti-pluralistic, dogmatic, subjective religious opinion. And our side unwittingly reinforces that view. Ten out of 10 conservative blogs and sites after the HHS decision announced: "Conscience is under attack!" "Religion is under attack!" Rubbish. Truth, reality, human welfare is under attack. "Conscience" to the other side means subjective moral opinion; and when it's our consciences they're referring to, it means dangerous moral opinion; and "religion" means bigotry. Of course they're going to oppose it. But we -- all of us -- have supported the public rhetorical instruments by which those terms have become morally inert.
Yes, there is a lot of anger over Obama's radically illiberal policy. But that anger is only rightly felt if it concerns the violation, not of legal or even constitutional rights, but the violation of truth. We need to stand up and say confidently and resolutely to Kathleen Sebelius, her thugs at HHS and her puppet-master in the White House: Your view is false and untrue; it radically violates human good and is destructive of communal integrity. Forcing persons wrongfully to cooperate in actions they judge to be evil is evil. And no president, king or emperor rightly demands others to do what is evil. We won't do it.
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E. Christian Brugger is a Senior Fellow of Ethics and director of the Fellows Program at the Culture of Life Foundation; and the J. Francis Cardinal Stafford Chair of Moral Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado. He is a contributor to ZENIT's biweekly Wednesday column, Questions on Bioethics.
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LITURGY
Disposing of Old Missals and Sacramentaries
And More on the Confiteor and Breast-Beating
ROME, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: What is the proper way to dispose of old missals and sacramentaries? I have heard that they should be burned, and that some priests have done so at the Easter Vigil for the blessing of the new fire. -- P.R., Oak Harbor, Washington
A: This question was addressed by the secretariat of divine worship of the U.S. bishops' conference. The advice offered is pertinent to other places as well. To wit:
"The Secretariat of Divine Worship has received a number of timely inquiries regarding the disposition of copies of the current Sacramentary once the new Roman Missal, Third Edition has been implemented.
"There is relatively little written about exactly what to do with liturgical books which have been replaced by updated or revised editions, but some related writings, as well as some common sense, can provide some context. The Book of Blessings, no. 1343, indicates that the Sacramentary, the Lectionary, and other liturgical books are counted among those articles used in the Sacred Liturgy which ought to be blessed using the rite provided for that purpose, the Order for the Blessing of Articles for Liturgical Use (nos. 1341-1359). The Latin De Benedictionibus, editio typica, however, does not explicitly mention the Missale among the articles that are properly blessed.
"Whether or not the Sacramentary has been blessed by an official rite, it is appropriate to treat it with care as it has been admitted into liturgical use. Its disposal should be handled with respect. The Secretariat recommends burying the Sacramentary in an appropriate location on church grounds, or perhaps in a parish cemetery if there is one. Some have even suggested following a custom used in various Eastern Churches whereby liturgical books or Bibles are placed in the coffin of the deceased as a sign of devotion and love for the Liturgy. In lieu of burying old liturgical books, they could be burned, and the ashes placed in the ground in an appropriate location on church grounds. It is advisable to retain a copy of the Sacramentary for parish archives or liturgical libraries.
"Looking ahead to the reception of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, the above-mentioned blessing from the Book of Blessings could be used to bless copies of the Missal before their first use on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. The blessing could take place during a Mass on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King, at the last weekday Mass prior to the First Sunday of Advent, or outside Mass at a separate gathering of liturgical ministers or other parish leaders.
"Many parishes will also replace hymnals and other participation aids (such as hand missals) in light of updated editions corresponding to the new Roman Missal. While the Blessing of Articles for Liturgical Use also mentions hymnals, it might be difficult to appropriately dispose of a large number of copies of such books. After setting aside an appropriate number of copies for archives and libraries, other copies could be stored for use by prayer or study groups in the parish, offered to parishioners for their own private devotional use, or donated to other small communities that could effectively make use of them. Due to copyright agreements, annual hymnals and participation aids should be discarded after their prescribed period of use and cannot be retained for other uses in parishes."
Some dioceses facilitated this disposal by arranging common drop-off places where priests could leave old missals. The Archdiocese of Denver, for example, made arrangement for a number of old missals to be buried in an unoccupied grave of a Catholic cemetery.
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Follow-up: "Brothers" or "Sisters"
In the wake of our Jan. 10 response on the Confiteor, a reader inquired: "In today's answers to question about the forgiveness of sins at Mass, you state from the Roman Missal: '. . . the priest invites those present to take part in the Act of Penitence, which, after a brief pause for silence, the entire community carries out through a formula of general confession. The rite concludes with the priest's absolution, which, however, lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance.' How do you reconcile that with the following teaching of the Council of Trent? Trent in its consideration of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice had declared (where I have added the emphasis): '. . . through the Mass we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (see Hebrews 4:16). For by this oblation the Lord is appeased, he grants grace and the gift of repentance, and he pardons wrongdoings and sins, even grave ones….'"
There is no contradiction here. The rubric states that the priest's absolution during the rite of penance is not a sacramental absolution. In other words, it is not the same as the absolution granted in the sacrament of penance. If it were so, there would be almost no need to go to confession at all.
The conciliar doctrine parts from a different level entirely. It is speaking of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice insofar as it is the un-bloody re-enactment of Christ's unique sacrifice on Calvary, and hence it has the same infinite effects as this sacrifice among which is to obtain the forgiveness of sins.
The forgiveness of sins is thus a fruit of the Mass because it is a fruit of the sacrifice of Calvary. This does not mean that each concrete individual who attends Mass is forgiven because in this case the application of the fruit of Christ's sacrifice also depends on the use of the sacrament of penance. A person who attends Mass with the proper dispositions will certainly receive forgiveness for venial sins. The Council of Trent does not say that someone in mortal sin obtains forgiveness by attending Mass but supposes that Mass may obtain the necessary grace to move the person to avail himself of the ordinary means of obtaining absolution.
As illustrated in Ludwig Ott's classical dogmatic manual: "The sacrifice of the Mass does not produce the forgiveness of sins immediately, as is the case of the sacraments of Baptism and penance, but only in a mediate way by granting the grace of repentance" (Eucharist 26,2a).
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Follow-up: Breast-Beating
Some readers still expressed doubts about the correctness of my opinion regarding the legitimacy of the triple beating of the breast in spite of an official pronouncement justifying the single strike (see Jan. 10 and Dec. 13).
One reader suggested that my earlier follow-up "seemed to imply that we were saying that the Holy See's one-beat indication could be ignored because it's been ignored for 30 years."
I therefore deem it necessary to revisit the argument once more, hoping to finally clarify myself.
First of all, allow me to say that, effectively, Spanish and Italian faithful, including most priests and bishops, have been ignoring the one-strike indication for 30 years. By "ignoring" I do not mean they were disobeying but rather that they had no knowledge that this official reply existed. After all, it was published in Latin in a review with a somewhat limited circulation.
Second, the official reply did not forbid the use of three strikes but simply stated that once was enough and there was no obligation to follow the older rubrics which mandated three strikes. Therefore, people simply kept on doing what they had always done and struck the breast three times at the triple manifestation of sin.
The point I was trying to make is that now that the English translation has restored the triple manifestation, it is probable that the faithful will naturally and spontaneously revert to the former practice of three strikes to the breast even though once is enough to comply with the rubrics.
As mentioned above, the official reply does not forbid this triple strike and I see no good coming from trying to impede its development.
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Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
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DOCUMENTS
Papal Message for Communications Day
"When Messages and Information Are Plentiful, Silence Becomes Essential"
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's message for World Communications Day 2012.
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Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we draw near to World Communications Day 2012, I would like to share with you some reflections concerning an aspect of the human process of communication which, despite its importance, is often overlooked and which, at the present time, it would seem especially necessary to recall. It concerns the relationship between silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved. When word and silence become mutually exclusive, communication breaks down, either because it gives rise to confusion or because, on the contrary, it creates an atmosphere of coldness; when they complement one another, however, communication acquires value and meaning.
Silence is an integral element of communication; in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves. By remaining silent we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself; and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested. In this way, space is created for mutual listening, and deeper human relationships become possible. It is often in silence, for example, that we observe the most authentic communication taking place between people who are in love: gestures, facial expressions and body language are signs by which they reveal themselves to each other. Joy, anxiety, and suffering can all be communicated in silence – indeed it provides them with a particularly powerful mode of expression. Silence, then, gives rise to even more active communication, requiring sensitivity and a capacity to listen that often makes manifest the true measure and nature of the relationships involved. When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary. Deeper reflection helps us to discover the links between events that at first sight seem unconnected, to make evaluations, to analyze messages; this makes it possible to share thoughtful and relevant opinions, giving rise to an authentic body of shared knowledge. For this to happen, it is necessary to develop an appropriate environment, a kind of ‘eco-system’ that maintains a just equilibrium between silence, words, images and sounds.
The process of communication nowadays is largely fuelled by questions in search of answers. Search engines and social networks have become the starting point of communication for many people who are seeking advice, ideas, information and answers. In our time, the internet is becoming ever more a forum for questions and answers – indeed, people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware. If we are to recognize and focus upon the truly important questions, then silence is a precious commodity that enables us to exercise proper discernment in the face of the surcharge of stimuli and data that we receive. Amid the complexity and diversity of the world of communications, however, many people find themselves confronted with the ultimate questions of human existence: Who am I? What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope? It is important to affirm those who ask these questions, and to open up the possibility of a profound dialogue, by means of words and interchange, but also through the call to silent reflection, something that is often more eloquent than a hasty answer and permits seekers to reach into the depths of their being and open themselves to the path towards knowledge that God has inscribed in human hearts.
Ultimately, this constant flow of questions demonstrates the restlessness of human beings, ceaselessly searching for truths, of greater or lesser import, that can offer meaning and hope to their lives. Men and women cannot rest content with a superficial and unquestioning exchange of skeptical opinions and experiences of life – all of us are in search of truth and we share this profound yearning today more than ever: "When people exchange information, they are already sharing themselves, their view of the world, their hopes, their ideals" (Message for the 2011 World Day of Communications).
Attention should be paid to the various types of websites, applications and social networks which can help people today to find time for reflection and authentic questioning, as well as making space for silence and occasions for prayer, meditation or sharing of the word of God. In concise phrases, often no longer than a verse from the Bible, profound thoughts can be communicated, as long as those taking part in the conversation do not neglect to cultivate their own inner lives. It is hardly surprising that different religious traditions consider solitude and silence as privileged states which help people to rediscover themselves and that Truth which gives meaning to all things. The God of biblical revelation speaks also without words: "As the Cross of Christ demonstrates, God also speaks by his silence. The silence of God, the experience of the distance of the almighty Father, is a decisive stage in the earthly journey of the Son of God, the incarnate Word …. God’s silence prolongs his earlier words. In these moments of darkness, he speaks through the mystery of his silence" (Verbum Domini, 21). The eloquence of God’s love, lived to the point of the supreme gift, speaks in the silence of the Cross. After Christ’s death there is a great silence over the earth, and on Holy Saturday, when "the King sleeps and God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages" (cf.Office of Readings, Holy Saturday), God’s voice resounds, filled with love for humanity.
If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God. "We need that silence which becomes contemplation, which introduces us into God’s silence and brings us to the point where the Word, the redeeming Word, is born" (Homily, Eucharistic Celebration with Members of the International Theological Commission, 6 October 2006). In speaking of God’s grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate and must make space for silent contemplation. Out of such contemplation springs forth, with all its inner power, the urgent sense of mission, the compelling obligation "to communicate that which we have seen and heard" so that all may be in communion with God (1 Jn 1:3). Silent contemplation immerses us in the source of that Love who directs us towards our neighbours so that we may feel their suffering and offer them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the fullness of love.
In silent contemplation, then, the eternal Word, through whom the world was created, becomes ever more powerfully present and we become aware of the plan of salvation that God is accomplishing throughout our history by word and deed. As the Second Vatican Council reminds us, divine revelation is fulfilled by "deeds and words having an inner unity: the deeds wrought by God in the history of salvation manifest and confirm the teaching and realities signified by the words, while the words proclaim the deeds and clarify the mystery contained in them" (Dei Verbum, 2). This plan of salvation culminates in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the mediator and the fullness of all revelation. He has made known to us the true face of God the Father and by his Cross and Resurrection has brought us from the slavery of sin and death to the freedom of the children of God. The fundamental question of the meaning of human existence finds in the mystery of Christ an answer capable of bringing peace to the restless human heart. The Church’s mission springs from this mystery; and it is this mystery which impels Christians to become heralds of hope and salvation, witnesses of that love which promotes human dignity and builds justice and peace.
Word and silence: learning to communicate is learning to listen and contemplate as well as speak. This is especially important for those engaged in the task of evangelization: both silence and word are essential elements, integral to the Church’s work of communication for the sake of a renewed proclamation of Christ in today’s world. To Mary, whose silence "listens to the Word and causes it to blossom" (Private Prayer at the Holy House, Loreto, 1 September 2007), I entrust all the work of evangelization which the Church undertakes through the means of social communication.
From the Vatican, 24 January 2012, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales
BENEDICTUS PP XVI
© Copyright 2012 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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